Cats Can't Wait
by MajorTomLives
Summary: Two days after the events of the film 'Cats Don't Dance,' Danny is excited to get into the movies, while Sawyer tells him to keep his ambition in check.
1. Chapter 1:  News on the March!

It happened almost like clockwork.

All across America, the movie houses began screening the Mammoth Pictures newsreels that arrived late Sunday afternoon. Produced weekly, the newsreels filled the gap left in the lives of people who would rather spend the afternoon at a movie house than read the paper. Studio logos appeared, followed by the shrill, yet powerful announcer's voice, narrating the title cards on screen. From New York to Chicago, Seattle to Hollywood, silver screens were lit up with the big story of the week. For many viewers, the biggest story of their lives.

"This is 'News on the March!', for the week of April 17th, 1939. Coming to you from Mammoth Studios in Hollywood, California! Friday was the gala premiere of 'Little Ark Angel' at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, staring popular child actress Darla Dimple. But attention quickly fell from the littlest starlet when a group of animals took the stage, stealing the show." The newsreel faded quickly from a stock photo of Darla to a group of animals, dancing on stage. Two cats, a penguin, a hippo, a turtle, a goat, a fish, and an elephant, all grinning wildly.

"Orange tabby Danny, Siamese Sawyer and the rest of their gang proved definitively that the human-centered film industry might want to give the animal kingdom a second glance. Keep on dancing, Danny!"

* * *

><p>"Cats Can't Wait"<p>

* * *

><p>In one particular movie house in Hollywood, the same orange tabby was excitedly squirming in his seat as the newsreel ended and a Dagmouse cartoon short began playing.<p>

"News is really starting to get around, isn't it?" Danny whispered excitedly to Pudge the penguin, seated next to him inside of a jumbo bucket of popcorn. He threw a few stray kernals in his mouth before replying.

"Sure is. You think we'll be getting more work now, Danny?"

Danny laughed. "Are you kidding? I wouldn't be surprised if Farley Wink was up to his ears in phone calls, clamoring for us. We're celebrities!"

It was true. In the mere two days since the now infamous premiere, the collective phones of Danny and his friends had hardly stopped ringing for more than a minute. Newspapers seeking statements, agents attempting to sign them away from Farley Wink's Animal Agency, even human film stars wishing congratulations. Danny had nearly fainted the night that Gene Kelly called, and was barely able to speak from starstruck.

Once the Dagmouse cartoon ended, the program had reached the beginning again. Danny leapt up from his seat, and Pudge crawled out from the bottom of the now empty popcorn bucket.

Exiting the theater, Danny and Pudge stepped out onto Hollywood Boulevard just as the sun was beginning to set. As what was left of the sunlight shone on the art-deco tourist traps and boutique stores along the busy street, Danny grabbed hold of a passing trolley. Pudge, barely paying attention, held onto Danny's leg at the last minute and was swept up with the momentum of the street car.

Hollywood. The streets weren't as gold as Danny had been led to believe back on the farm in Indiana, but they were still beautiful to him. He looked up, watching as theaters, hotels and stores began switching on their neon lighting for the night. As much as he had loved the stars back home, there was just something about neon text that just made Danny's fur stand on end. In the distance, he could see his current residence, the El Greco Hotel, do the same, as well as the more towering Mon Signor and Hollywood Tower Hotel.

"When are you going to find a new place, Danny?" Pudge asked, after having grabbed onto the metal lip of the streetcar himself. Danny, still transfixed by the artificial lighting, shook his head.

"I'm not sure. I was kinda wondering about that myself."

Danny nudged his penguin friend with his tail to get his attention, then jumped from the streetcar. Instinctively, he took his trademark boater from his head, held it out, and caught Pudge in it before setting him down. Replacing the hat on his head, Danny began to dance his way down the street.

Whistling, he stopped to browse the selection of a floral cart along the street. Grabbing a bouquet of roses, he turned to the young swan standing near the cart. In his usual fashion, he was so caught up in his own ideas that he was oblivious to the somewhat shocked look on her face.

"How much for these roses?" Danny asked, grinning. The swan bowed her head sheepishly.

"Take them. Thank you so much," she replied quietly. Danny shook his head.

"Now now, I can't just take these!" he laughed. The swan just hugged him and turned away. It was now Danny's turn to stand looking shocked.

"Hey, come on!" Pudge cried, butting into Danny's stupor, "We're going to be late!"

Shaking his head, Danny turned to follow Pudge down the street.

* * *

><p>Stepping into the waiting room for Farley Wink's Animal Agency, Danny and Pudge found themselves in the middle of a party in progress. Ragtime piano was coming in full force from Wooly the Elephant, as the various animal actors under Wink's management danced throughout the room. Always a big hit, Tilly the Hippo pulled Wink himself out from his office to dance, however begrudgingly. T.W., a turtle, nervously shuffled back and forth, looking around in constant fear that a jubilant animal might step on him by mistake. And Francis and Cranston, fish and goat, were locked into what appeared to be both a dance and argument.<p>

"Shows what you know, you dried up old cod!" he shouted, laughing as he spun her around.

"Heh! I haven't seen dancing like that since my second husband went belly-up!" she retorted.

Danny laughed, doing his best to sidestep the crowd. He was grabbed by Wink, who managed to break away from Tilly long enough to spot the cat in the crowd.

"Everybody!" he called out over the music, "Danny's here!" Danny felt his face begin to heat up as the room erupted into cheers. "This cat has done the impossible! We're getting calls off the hook for animal roles like we've never seen! We've got parts for lions! We've got parts for tigers! We've got parts for bears!"

"Oh my!" Tilly called out, then giggled at her own joke.

"Yes, everyone, and now that the man of the hour is here, we can _really_ get started!" Wink then brought out a box full of party hats. Francis and Cranston exchanged a look of heavy sarcasm.

* * *

><p>Danny, managing to escape the cacophony inside, slipped out onto the catwalk. Sawyer, still dressed in her business attire, leaned against the iron balcony, looking out at the city.<p>

"Nice night," Danny noted, sliding up next to her. Sawyer smirked and gave him a sideways glance. "Why aren't you in there?"

Sawyer laughed shortly. "Why aren't you? It's your party." Danny whipped the bouquet of roses out from behind his back and into Sawyer's face. She gasped lightly in surprise, taking them slowly from Danny.

"I only came because I heard this famous feline was going to be here."

"You're crazy, Danny."

"Maybe I am."

Sawyer shook her head, smiling as she turned back to the city again. "You know what you're doing about your living situation yet?"

Danny scratched his head. "Still no idea. I don't know what I'll be able to afford, what with the new jobs and all."

Sawyer took a slow breath in, held it as she closed her eyes, and then let it out slowly. She looked at the bouquet of roses in her hands, then gently put them down next to the two of them. Danny watched her closely, not sure what to make of her body language. He lost his train of thought when she turned back to look at him, and he found himself looking into her gorgeous brown eyes.

"Danny, I know you're excited about what happened at the premiere..." Sawyer began to speak, only to be cut off.

"I still can't believe it! We're finally going to be able to live our dreams! Pudge and I were just at the movies today, and Mammoth Pictures just released a..."

"Danny!" Coming off a little harsher than she had hoped, Sawyer sighed again as she watched the life and energy leave Danny's face. "What I mean to say is, maybe you should think about getting a day job. Just for right now!" she clarified, as Danny's eyes widened. "Just until the big roles start coming in, okay? You don't see me putting in my two weeks with Wink, do you? Give it a little time."

Sawyer wrapped her arms around Danny's waist, and put her head into his shoulder. After a moment, she looked back up at him to see that his smile had returned in full force.

"That's my Danny," she said softly.

* * *

><p>The largest and grandest of the Hollywood movie studios was, without question, Mammoth Pictures. But very recently, a new studio had begun to take its own crack at the market. Wilbur Dagmouse, a cartoonist from Kansas, had come to Hollywood in order to make animated cartoons to run before the feature presentations of bigger studios. The cartoons had become an overnight sensation, featuring a cavalcade of lovable, dopey, animated animal characters.<p>

"You see the problem, don't you?"

Dagmouse sat behind his desk, as he always did in the evening. His office, lined with cel drawings of his characters and Oscar statuettes won by his cartoons, was dimly lit. As his visitor had not been invited, he had no choice but to assume this was by design. "I haven't the strangest idea of what you're talking about," he replied, attempting to mask the unease in his voice. He couldn't see who was in his office with him, but he had a sinking feeling he had heard the voice before.

"All your money and fame. Your entire studio. It's built on stupid, useless, animals. The comedy that keeps people buying your dumb cartoons comes from stupid. Useless. Animals. If, perhaps, animals began getting staring roles, being portrayed as intelligent and rational, you'd be out of a job. Worse, they'd probably vilify you as an anti-animalist. Someone in the way of animal rights. And progress."

Dagmouse gulped. Besides his popular animal cartoons, Dagmouse was a devout believer in human progress, to the point of having some of his designers draw up plans for an entire planned community based on progress. "What do you propose I do?"

There was a flash of curls as the short girl in front of Dagmouse turned on her heels and walked toward the door. "Leave everything to me, Wilby. I'll let you know what I need from you later."

The door opened and shut. Pouring milk into a cup, adorned with an image of his famous cat character, Kitten Kenny, he shook his head. "Jiminy Cricket.."


	2. Chapter 2: Cats Can't Bus Tables, Either

Another morning waking up at the El Greco Hotel. Danny stretched his arms out widely, his eyes attempting to remain closed to shut out as much of the California morning sun as possible. Looking at the chrome alarm clock next to his bed, he realized he woke up earlier than he had expected to. With a smile, he shut the alarm off and quickly prepared himself for the day.

He noticed a slip of paper on the floor near his hotel room door. Picking it up, he read it aloud. "Danny, as per our current arrangement, your stay with us will end tomorrow night at 7:00pm. As we are in need of all of our rooms, we would appreciate your cooperation in a prompt and speedy checkout. -The Management." He whistled to himself, then set the paper down on his dresser. "No pressure or anything..."

Looking into the mirror with a huge grin, he began to talk himself up. "Danny! Going out to get a job! No pressure now, it's no different than singing and dancing – just put on a good show and everyone will come out smiling!"

* * *

><p>Danny stepped out of the Mammoth Studios personnel office, his face significantly more glum than it was when he left the hotel. Taking a moment to sit down on a wooden bench outside of the building, he saw T.W. slowly walking by, opening yet another fortune cookie.<p>

"Hey there, T.W.," Danny greeted him, half heartedly. T.W., startled at first, turned and walked over to Danny, sitting down next to him.

"Oh, hi Danny. Just checking my daily fortune," he replied, taking the small slip of paper out of the cookie.

"So you're cutting back to one a day now?" Danny asked, almost jokingly. T.W. nodded.

"Yup! Just one a day. Unless of course it's really bad, then two. Or three if my luck is really..."

T.W. stopped, realizing Danny was drifting off into his own thoughts.

"I just don't understand it, T.W. What does a cat have to do to get a job in this town?" T.W. didn't hear him, however. He turned to his fortune instead.

"The worst is... yet to come?" T.W. gasped in horror. Danny watched in amazement as the turtle dashed off in a hurry to find the nearest Chinese restaurant.

* * *

><p>Danny walked up to the Brown Derby, the world famous restaurant of the stars. Outside stood a burly doorman, quick to hold his hand out in Danny's face as he tried to enter.<p>

"Hey, no animals in the Brown Derby," he barked. Danny smiled, trying to remain positive.

"I'm not here to eat, I'm looking for a job!" Danny held out his paws, attempting to put his best foot forward. The doorman first began to move forward, as if he was about to shoo Danny away like a stray. Then, in midmotion, he moved his hand up to his chin in thought.

"Actually, the boss did say something about us needed to hire a few new waiters. Can you take orders?"

"Can I? I lived on a farm my whole life, I certainly can..."

"Yeah, yeah, you'll do. Get an apron on and start learning the ropes, cat."

The doorman stepped aside to allow Danny to enter. As he passed by, Danny tipped his hat, and offered a polite, "It's Danny, thank you," before entering the restaurant. The doorman rolled his eyes and went back to ogling a movie billboard with Joan Crawford on it.

* * *

><p>Working at the Brown Derby wasn't difficult at all for Danny. Having been the youngest at home in Kokomo, Indiana, he had been used to running around taking orders. Waiting tables came naturally to him. Unfortunately, he had hardly considered how he'd react to being surrounded by celebrity after famous celebrity.<p>

Upon approaching Jimmy Stuart's table, Danny tripped over his own feet, spilling drinks all over the flustered actor. Later, he knocked steak sauce all over Katherine Hepburn and, in his rush to help her clean it out of her dress, ended up touching Howard Hughes' food, causing him to demand it taken away and burned.

Once he had helped Charlie Chaplin find his hat, he figured the worst was over and that the day would proceed as planned. He approached a table in his section that had just been seated by the doorman, only to find none other than Wilbur Dagmouse seated at the table.

"Wow... Um, well, hello Mr. Dagmouse! It's a pleasure to see you here today!" Danny greeted the cartoonist warmly. With a small smile, Dagmouse paged through the menu.

"Thank you, cat," Dagmouse addressed Danny. Danny's whiskers twitched slightly. Even before everything began to go wrong for him with other patrons of the restaurant, they always referred to him the same way. Cat. Danny normally wasn't bothered by things like that, but the amount of disrespect being shown to him, especially by people he considered his peers, was starting to get on his nerves.

"Heh heh... My name is Danny, and I'll be taking your order today," he smoothly redirected the conversation. Dagmouse turned to look at his waiter, and chuckled to himself.

"Danny, huh? It's so nice to see you again so soon!" Danny opened his mouth to ask for an explanation, but Dagmouse continued talking, "I happened to be at the Little Ark Angel premiere the other night and saw your fantastic performance."

"Well!" Danny puffed up his chest a bit, "Thank you, Mr. Dagmouse! We're excited that the world can finally begin to see what animals have to offer..."

"So what's next for you then? Has Mammoth Pictures signed you to a three picture deal?"

Danny stuttered to a crawl. "Um, well, no... not exactly..."

"No?" Dagmouse asked, taken aback. "Well certainly there have to be offers pouring in from other studios, then? Does Cosmopolitan Studios want to sign you and your friends? Or Turn of the Century Minx?"

Danny could only shake his head. Dagmouse tutted and handed the menu to Danny.

"What a shame. You animals really could go somewhere. Speaking of, can you go get me some coffee? Cream and two sugars, if you don't mind."

Defeated, Danny nodded and walked away. Dagmouse turned back to face the other, empty, side of the table.

"He didn't seem like that bad of a cat. What do you have against him?"

Peeking out from under the table, dressed in a hooded trenchcoat, Darla Dimple cast a dark glare at Dagmouse.

* * *

><p>"...and don't forget to file away any ducks under the file for Stormy Weather. They're still calling for them over at Cosmopolitan."<p>

"Yes, Mr. Wink, right away," Sawyer dutifully replied. Wink, putting on his hat and coat in front of the mirror, took a moment to straighten his eyebrows before turning back to Sawyer.

"Sawyer, this place would be a wreck without ya. I almost hope that Hollywood never calls your name just so that this place doesn't fall apart the second you leave."

"Wow," Sawyer replied, "That was almost a compliment."

"Ya gotta take what you can get. See ya tomorrow," Wink waved as he threw open the front door and walked out. Seconds after the door slammed shut, it slowly began to open again.

"Farley, what did you forget now?" Sawyer groaned, rolling her eyes. She turned to see not Farley Wink, but Danny standing in the doorway. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, his face crestfallen and hurt, a Brown Derby apron haphazardly tied around his waist, and the hat of a bellhop nearly falling from his head.

"Hiya, Sawyer," Danny quietly uttered, walking over to her desk. She watched as he slowly pulled up a wooden chair and slumped into it, his head falling onto her desk. Sawyer removed the hat from Danny's head and slowly stroked his fur.

"Danny, what happened to you?" she asked softly, attempting to lift his chin up with her paw.

"Has it always been this bad for animals in Hollywood?" he finally managed to spit out. He looked up at Sawyer, her compassionate eyes feeling every ounce of sadness in his broken body. She had no answer for him. "I just don't get it. Mammoth Studios wouldn't give me a temp job, I got fired from the Brown Derby for accidentally starting a fight between W.C. Fields and the Marx Brothers, and I couldn't hold down a bellhop job for longer than an hour before I was fired. And no matter where I went, I was always called 'cat'. It didn't matter if I told them my name or not, I was just 'cat' to them."

"There's a reason no one believed you could do what you did, tiger," Sawyer explained, shaking her head. "This town's got rules. The humans make them, we follow them. That's just the way it is. And it means we get the short end of everything."

"But what happened, Sawyer? What happened to us all becoming stars, like L.B. Mammoth said we would?"

Sawyer scoffed. "It hasn't even been a week, Danny! You know how long it takes to make a movie? How long it takes to write one? Wink has been on the phone all week with the studio heads, each of which has entire screenwriting departments working on new scripts for animals. It takes time, Danny! You have to be patient!"

Danny raised his head. "New scripts for animals?" he asked, curious. Sawyer nodded. "So, we can't stand on our own as actors and talent? We have to have specific scripts written for us?" The corner of Danny's mouth was beginning to twitch slightly. Pulling Danny to his feet, Sawyer embraced the distraught cat tenderly.

"Give it time, everything will work out."

"But what am I going to do? I can't get a job, I'm running out of money, I have to move out of the El Greco tomorrow night..."

Sawyer sighed deeply, then tightened her hug. "If you need a place to stay..." she began, feeling every word slide down her spine like ice, "...I suppose you can stay with me."

Danny's eyes opened wide. He spun around, looking all over Sawyer's face for even the slightest hint of sarcasm. "You mean it?" She rolled her eyes.

"If you don't get too over excited about it," she clarified. "I'm not that kind of girl, Danny." At first, Danny's mind reeled, attempting to come up with the perfect reassurance. But then a smirk cracked across Sawyer's mouth, and Danny was instantly reassured.

"I guess I'll go get my things?" Danny grinned. Sawyer rolled her eyes harder and ruffled Danny's hair.


	3. Chapter 3: The Sultry Voice of Victory

Author's Note - in previous chapters, I've used fictional stand-ins for Hollywood film studios. You will notice that in this chapter, there is a real studio name listed. Since said studio went bankrupt back in the 1940s-1950s, I consider it fair game for use in the story. Alright, now that we got that out of the way, back to the cats.

* * *

><p>"I still don't feel comfortable with this, Darla."<p>

Dagmouse was once again in his office, but it was clear who was now in charge. He paced back and forth around the room, while Darla sat at his desk, leaning back in his chair and putting her feet up.

"Your entire cartoon empire, Dagmouse," she reminded him. "It's going to fall big if you don't take just a teensy weensy bit of my advice."

"But I don't even know this cat! Or anyone who would do what... you're suggesting I arrange."

Darla smiled. "I know a young, ambitious producer just here from New York. He's got stars in his eyes and probably doesn't know a thing about the business. We can take advantage of his good nature and use him as bait for Danny and his friends."

"Who?"

Darla pulled a manilla envelope from below Dagmouse's desk, placing it down flat. Dagmouse cautiously picked it up, and looked inside. A photograph headshot of a rising radio and voice acting talent. Dagmouse's brow furrowed in confusion.

"He's not a producer." Darla made a motion with her fingers for him to turn the photograph around. Reluctantly, he did, and found an article cut from an entertainment newspaper pasted to the back.

"He just signed a big ol' two picture deal with RKO Pictures. He's the perfect trap."

Running his fingers across his thin moustache, Dagmouse sighed. Darla giggled menacingly.

"You win. I'll make the calls."

* * *

><p>"Morning, Sawyer!"<p>

Sawyer blinked slowly, her face scrunching up into a yawn. As her vision shifted into focus, she saw Danny in her kitchen, flipping flapjacks. The rustic, chintzy furniture hadn't been her first choices for the interior design of her home, but she had to make due with what she could afford. It obviously didn't phase Danny, though. He was already right at home, having found everything he needed to make breakfast without even waking her. Though she'd never admit it, Sawyer was impressed. Without a word, she slinked behind him to her coffee pot, and began to set her brew.

"How'd you sleep?" Danny asked, unphased by Sawyer's lack of response. She shrugged. "Well, I slept great! Your couch is really comfortable, you know. Hah, I guess you would know."

He flipped the flapjacks again, their milky white color slowly turning brown. Sawyer looked at them curiously. "I didn't know you could cook," she finally said, her voice significantly quieter and lower. Danny turned around.

"Are you okay? Getting sick?" his expression fell from joy to concern quickly. Sawyer shook her head.

"Danny, it's morning. And I'm not a morning cat." She placed her coffee pot on the stove and turned on the burners. "I don't understand how you can always have so much energy."

"Well, I always woke up early in Indiana. There was always work that had to be done, you know. And if my brothers and sisters had chores, they weren't going to let me sleep while they were working." Danny placed the flapjacks onto a plate and brought them over to Sawyer's dining room table. Two places were set with plates, silverware, and glasses of milk. Sawyer walked over and sat down, smirking and taking a drink from her glass of milk.

"What was living on a farm like?" Sawyer had never thought to ask Danny about his past, although to be fair, she had only first met him a little over a week ago. In a way, this frightened her to death, someone who she had just met a week ago had slept on her couch. Part of her was screaming out in terror, but her long-dormant romanticism was now making the decisions for her.

Danny swallowed a bite of flapjack after pouring syrup onto them. "It was fun at times. Lots of wide open spaces to run around and play in, I had a lot of really great friends..." He sighed, his face shifting emotion a bit. He let his face fall into his orange paw and stared at the table in front of him.

"My brothers thought I was crazy. They were country cats through and through. My sisters were actually the ones who I was closest too, they'd always play pretend or want to dance and sing, and I was always their partner. No other boys my age wanted to dress up and hang around girls."

Sawyer laughed softly, watching Danny closely as he continued. "Every week, I'd go with my sisters to the movie house in town. My dad would have to drive us, we lived pretty far out of town, so it was always an event. That's when I decided that I wanted to move away to Hollywood."

Sawyer put her paw on Danny's and gently squeezed it. He looked up at her, smiling.

The moment was broken by the telephone obnoxiously ringing behind Sawyer. Startled, her claws dug into Danny's paw as she leapt up to answer it. She realized what she had done when she turned around to see Danny clutching his paw, blowing on it.

"Oh no, Danny, I'm so- Hello? Wink, what's this... I'm going to be there in... Can't this wait? Oh. Wait, what?"

Danny, preoccupied by his paw, didn't notice the thunderstruck look on Sawyer's face.

"Oh, of course I'll tell him... T-thank you! I'll make sure he gets there right on time. Thank you, Farley. Goodbye." Sawyer slammed the phone down, and rushed over to look at Danny's paw.

"Don't worry about it, Sawyer!" Danny laughed, "I'll be fine. What was that all about?"

Sawyer looked up at Danny, attempting to speak but not quite able to get the words out. Danny brushed his uninjured paw against Sawyer's cheek, who nuzzled it affectionately. "Danny..." she began slowly, her voice quavering. "Farley Wink just got a phone call from RKO Studios. I'm supposed to take you there to meet Orson Welles."

Danny's jaw dropped.

* * *

><p>Inside a RKO soundstage, Danny passed grip after grip, busy working on a major film a few buildings over. Danny had seen busy soundstages before over at Mammoth Pictures, but this place had a completely different feel. The air tasted sweeter, the lights were brighter, and the people even seemed to be more respectful of him.<p>

Or maybe he was just viewing the studio through the lens of his own excitement. Either way, Danny found himself almost skipping to the small rehearsal room that he had been told to go to. The door, painted with the adornment 'Welles, A-113,' stood before him. He took a deep breath and knocked twice. He winced in pain slightly, only after knocking did he remember the bandages on his paw from that morning.

"Come in," came the familiar, sultry voice that had permanently glued Danny and his sisters to their radio set back home. He opened the door and entered the office. It wasn't very fancy, L.B. Mammoth's office was far more impressive at Mammoth Studios. Instead, there were a few pictures of Welles and his team at Mercury Radio, and a few radio and theater awards scattered about.

"You must be Danny," Orson Welles addressed his guest. Danny, growing dizzy at the mention of his name, could only nod. Orson laughed and stood up, walking over to Danny. "Come now, Danny, I'm hardly someone you should be afraid of. I'm as inexperienced as you are at this point."

"But I've listened to you on the radio for years!" Danny squeaked out, in disbelief that someone with a presence as commanding as Welles would dismiss his achievements. Welles laughed and walked back over to his desk, pulling a script out of a drawer.

"Radio and theater aren't the same as the pictures, Danny. I've never directed a picture, and you've never starred in a picture. So I think we're a perfect match, aren't we?" Again, Danny could only nod. "Have you ever read Heart of Darkness, Danny?"

"Um, no sir, I haven't," Danny replied. Welles handed the script to Danny, who began to page through it slowly.

"It takes place in the African Congo, dealing with the darkness and evil that took place during the era of colonialism. And I would want you to play the lead, a steamboat captain named Charlie Marlow, who is the audience's vantage point to view this evil."

"Wow," breathed Danny. He was a fairly speedy reader, and even by just paging through the script, he could tell that it was brilliant.

"We produced the story for our radio program, and it was received tremendously. However, I always thought it would translate very well to the silver screen. I know that dark drama isn't exactly your cup of tea. As I recall, you're more of a song and dance cat."

Danny laughed, "Yeah, I suppose that's more what I'm known for." Danny's head began to rush with excitement when he realized that Orson Welles had only referred to him as a cat once, and it hadn't been in place of his actual name.

"And I think that you could do wonders in musicals, no doubt. But it's clear from what I'm reading in the trades that while your friends made a huge splash, the industry isn't ready for animal leads just yet. Someone has to make the first move. And I want it to be you and me, Danny."

* * *

><p>After that, everything was just a blur to Danny. He was pretty sure he signed a contract, and that he and Orson Welles had exchanged a few more pleasantries before he was shuffled off to the costume department in order to get his measurements. Then he was taken to the promotional department, and his photograph was taken from every conceivable angle. Many hands were shaken, many bulbs flashed.<p>

And as quick as everything had happened, Danny found himself boarding a streetcar and joining Sawyer in a bench seat.

"Orson Welles..." was all Danny could say to her when she asked him about his day. She shook her head, smiling. She slowly stroked the bandages on his paw, her own little non-verbal apology for the morning.

"You did it, Danny," Sawyer purred, wrapping her arms around him. Without warning, Danny turned his head and pulled Sawyer into a deep kiss. Her eyes widened in shock. When the two of them broke, her face couldn't hide the growing terror within her.

"Wh-why did you do that?" she asked him nervously. His stunned face slowly grew into a wry smile.

"I wanted to."

Sawyer allowed her head to rest on Danny's shoulder, smiling. All the while, thinking _'Now I've done it...'_


	4. Chapter 4:  Making and Unmaking History

Danny hardly noticed the past three months flying by. How could he? Heart of Darkness was inches away from beginning filming, and Welles had been keeping his star cat busy. Between rehearsals, character sessions, and having to act in the occasional RKO newsreel (as per his contract with the company), the time for his Hollywood adventure had finally come.

One Thursday night, on the main soundstage that Heart of Darkness would be filming, Orson Welles assembled his cast and crew at the end of their working shifts. Stepping onto a soap box on the steamboat set, his towering presence brought the entire soundstage to silence without a word from him.

"Everyone, next Monday, we begin principle photography on Heart of Darkness," he announced, to the excitement and cheers of his crew. Excited himself, Welles grinned widely as he watched the exuberance of his fellow craftsmen. Danny shot him a smile right back, nudging his costar in the film (also a cat, at Welles' insistence) and sharing a grin with him as well.

"I must take a moment to say, thank you all. This studio has given a know-nothing radio man ultimate control over a major motion picture, unthinkable in this day and age. But, as most of you are well aware, that's not the only thing unthinkable about this film we're making. We're boasting the first ever major motion picture that places animal actors, particularly cats," he added, winking at Danny, "in every lead role! This film is history in the making, my friends. And because of that, RKO has extended a special, surprise invitation to you all."

The cast and crew looked at each other, not sure what to expect. Danny smiled wider, as Welles had let him in on the secret earlier in the week. It had taken every fiber of willpower he had to keep his mouth shut about it.

"As you may or may not be aware, RKO is the distributor of Dagmouse Animated Pictures. And, tomorrow night, will be the gala premiere of Mr. Dagmouse's, and the world's, first feature length animated film: Kitten Kenny Goes Hollywood. And as the cast and crew of the most anticipated film in RKO Pictures history, you've all been invited to the premiere!"

As to be expected, the crew exploded into excited chatter and fuss. Orson stepped down from his soap box and addressed Danny directly.

"I've been told to offer you extra tickets for your friends from Mammoth Studios," he said, holding out an envelope for Danny. "I trust you'll know where to find them." Danny's mouth was locked in a constant grin as he accepted the envelope from Welles, who pulled his paw into a handshake. Despite having worked closely with him for several months, Danny still couldn't get over how Welles never once treated him like an animal, never ruffled his hair, or jokingly pulled his tail... Danny was always an equal to him. And it took a lot to keep him from bursting into tears every time he realized it.

With the tickets in hand, Danny rushed out of the studio lot and toward the streetcar line, excited to share the news with his friends.

* * *

><p>"A Dagmouse cartoon?" Sawyer nearly spat saying the name.<p>

Pinky's Diner, a little dive a few blocks south of the Mammoth Studios backlot, was a usual haunt for the animal actors during lunch breaks and late night coffee runs. Danny was right to assume his friends would be here, instantly pulling up a chair next to Sawyer. Wooly was attempting to introduce Tilly to peanut tea, while Cranston and Francis were bickering. T.W. watched Danny with great interest, as he hadn't seen him at all in several weeks.

"Yeah! We're all invited to the premiere of the first ever feature length animated cartoon!" Danny gushed, distributing the admittance passes amongst his animal friends. Sawyer gingerly accepted hers, hissing lightly. Danny turned in surprise, only to see Sawyer smiling back at him.

"D-did you just hiss at the ticket?" Danny asked in astonishment. Sawyer shook her head, pursing her lips into a small smile.

"Yes, she did," barked Cranston from a booth over. Sawyer quickly crumpled up a napkin in front of her and threw it at Cranston. She turned back to Danny, who was staring in disbelief.

"Sawyer... I mean, I thought you'd be excited..." Danny mumbled, unable to contain his disappointment in her reaction. Sawyer sighed, and tried to take Danny's paw. A chill went down her spine when she realized how far she had to reach in order to take his paw into her hand, and how he didn't even try to offer it to her. A deadly silence fell over the diner, with all eyes on Sawyer and Danny. She sniffed lightly before speaking.

"Danny, have you ever watched a Dagmouse cartoon?" she asked him slowly, as if she was begging him to really listen to her words. True to form, Danny completely missed her subtle point.

"Of course I have, they play before every major movie. I thought you knew that," he explained, inducing a groan from Sawyer.

"Yes, I know, Danny. But have you ever _really_ watched a Dagmouse cartoon? And understood what was going on?"

Danny's face twisted in confusion. Sawyer shook her head. Out of nowhere, T.W. jumped up onto the table and grabbed Danny by the cuff of his shirt.

"Wilbur Dagmouse hates animals! It's clear with every drawing that's ever flown from his pen! He hates us!"

"Hates us?" Danny exclaimed, stepping back in surprise. He lost his balance, falling onto one of the stools lining the counter. Seeing all his friends at once, he realized they were all solemnly nodding in agreement with T.W.

"Dreadful stuff, that," Wooly sniffed, turning his trunk up.

"We're portrayed as goofy morons, darling," Francis chimed in, flicking ash from the end of her cigarette.

"You go to the movies every week, Danny," Sawyer reminded him, standing from her seat and walking over to him. She put her arm gently around him. "You've never been offended by Kitten Kenny?"

"What? No! I think he's hilarious! He's just a cartoon character!" he added, after seeing the looks of horror on the faces of his friends at his answer. "He's not real."

"Danny, do you even understand the gravity of what we did at Mammoth Studios?" Wooly had left his booth, and was taking tremendous steps over to where Danny was seated. The entire diner shook with the shockwaves of his steps, finally ending in a climactic BANG when he sat down nearer to Danny.

"Well, of course!" Danny replied heartily.

"Lad, I don't think you do," Wooly replied, shaking his head. "You may not have noticed it back in Indiana, but in Hollywood, us animals had been treated as second-class citizens for decades. We haven't just been kept out of the movies. We've been kept out of jobs, out of neighborhoods, out of sight. For a very long time, we did the work that no humans would want to do."

"What?" Danny turned to Sawyer, hoping that she wouldn't confirm what he was hearing. She ran her paw against his cheek, sympathy in her gaze, but she still slowly nodded. Danny felt his soul sink.

"If it hadn't been for you, old boy, we might have never broken through the barrier. And things are starting to get better, if you haven't noticed. But it's the work of men like Dagmouse that'll hold us back." Wooly looked at Danny though his tiny spectacles. Danny could feel the warmth in his gaze, but it did little good.

"Maybe... if we meet with him... we can change his mind," Danny said, slowly allowing optimism to flow back into him. His friends didn't share his sentiment, however, as the sounds of groaning, disagreement, and Cranston mumbling "Oh, not this again..." filled the diner.

"Wait..." Sawyer called out, attempting to silence everyone. After a moment, the diner returned to it's eerie silence. "Maybe Danny's right."

Sawyer spun around to smile at Danny, and to catch a glimpse of his smile again. She shook his head playfully before turning back to the other animals. "If we could convince L.B. Mammoth to give us a shot, I don't see why we can't sway Wilbur Dagmouse in our favor as well."

The animals slowly began to come around. Danny and Sawyer exchanged another look, and she could see the immense gratitude in his eyes without him having to say a word.

* * *

><p>"Goodnight, Sawyer," Danny said, sitting himself down on his couch and preparing to sleep. Sawyer stood in her night gown at the foot of the staircase, watching Danny for a minute.<p>

"You know," she began, walking over to him, "the bed's big enough for two." Danny turned around in surprise, Sawyer had been keeping him at an arm's length for a while when it came to affection. Occasionally the two would hold hands or kiss, but for the most part she found it distasteful, especially in public and around their friends. Between how Sawyer had been at the diner, and now this, Danny's mind was quickly reeling.

"You mean it?" he asked cautiously, unsure whether Sawyer was serious or not. He got his answer as she took his paw and led him upstairs to her room.

Sawyer and Danny entered her bedroom as she switched on the light. There wasn't much to look at, just her modest bed, a few pictures and a vanity mirror on her dresser, but that didn't bother Danny in the slightest. Sawyer disappeared into a connecting bathroom in order to prepare for bed, leaving Danny to look around. On her vanity mirror, Sawyer had wedged a few old photographs into the grooves along the edge of the mirror. He laughed softly at the sight of Sawyer as a kitten, held in the arms of her mother.

Her mother didn't make an appearance in any of the other pictures. The rest showed young Sawyer in dance practices and singing in front of a small audience. Danny wasn't given much time to contemplate the photos, as Sawyer reemerged from the bathroom.

"I forgot about those," Sawyer murmured, putting her hands behind her back. Danny broke into a smile.

"Aw, don't tell me you're embarrassed by these!" he said, walking closer to her. She shook her head.

"No, I'm just not one for too much nostalgia. Ready?" she asked him. He nodded and climbed into the bed. Sawyer walked over to shut off the light, and she too got in bed. She crawled over next to Danny, wrapping an arm around him.

"Danny?" she asked, slowly. He turned to her, his eyes adjusting to the dark.

"Yeah?"

"You know I believe in you, right?"

Danny pulled Sawyer against him tight and she sighed, content.

* * *

><p>Grauman's Chinese Theatre was all decked out in lights for the Kitten Kenny Goes Hollywood premiere. Danny stood in awe, taking in the sight of all the Hollywood brass coming out in droves to support a cartoon. He hadn't had a chance to enjoy the last premiere he attended, in part because he had found himself being chased by an enormous manservant across the roof of the building, so he wasn't going to waste this one.<p>

On his arm, in a flowing red satin dress, Sawyer smiled as widely as she could manage given the circumstances, which equated to barely above a smirk. She flinched lightly when a photographer, aiming for the celebrities entering the theater, would temporarily blind her with their flashbulbs. More than anything else, she just wanted the night to go smoothly and move onto the next day. Having been run ragged at the agency, she wanted nothing more than to sleep through Saturday.

"Oh boy, this is exciting!" Danny said to her as the two of them took their seats in the theater. Sawyer attempted to sound as sincere as possible.

"Golly!" she managed to say with an adequate degree of enthusiasm. Danny spun his head around, looking for the rest of their friends. The seats reserved for them were empty. _Where are those guys?_ Danny wondered just as the lights dimmed in the theater. A round of applause spread like wildfire as Wilbur Dagmouse took center stage.

"Thank you," he addressed the crowd humbly. "On behalf of all of us at Dagmouse Animated Pictures, I'd like to welcome you to the grand premiere of the first ever feature length animated production."

Another round of applause. Danny joined in enthusiastically. Sawyer, more reluctantly.

"The subject of our first feature was the fodder of much debate at our studio. For a while, we had explored doing a fairy tale, giving it new life through the wonder of animation. But, we eventually came to the conclusion that it would be best to start things out with what we started our company with. It all started with a cat."

Another round of applause. Dagmouse bowed slightly and stepped from the stage. The lights faded to leave the entire theater shrouded in darkness, and the movie started.

As enthusiastic as Danny had started out going into the premiere, he found it hard to maintain his energy as the cartoon progressed. Kitten Kenny and his animal friends were quite goofy, goofier than he remembered watching their shorts at the beginning of other films. But that wasn't what bothered Danny as much. What had him irked was the plot – Kitten Kenny leaving the farm to try and make it in Hollywood with his friends.

Sawyer noticed Danny's breathing change, and turned to look at him. She could see it all on his face; the embarrassment, the humiliation, the hurt...

The film reached the ending, with Kitten Kenny and his friends returning home. With a "Dagnabit, we gave it our best shot, fellas," they boarded a bus and left the gleaming city of Hollywood. The lights came back on in the theater and the film was given a standing ovation. Danny and Sawyer politely declined.

Danny looked to his left, and saw that the seats reserved for his friends were still vacant. With a disappointed sigh, he turned back to the stage to see Dagmouse under spotlight. He was joined by another man that neither he nor Sawyer knew.

"Well, that's only the beginning for us. I'd like to take a moment to re-introduce you to a friend of mine, who was a driving force behind this production. Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Darla Dimple!"

Sawyer audibly gasped, but it wasn't heard over the sounds of cheering in the crowd. Danny's heart fell, not just because the littlest starlet was taking the stage, but because the hundreds of people around him didn't seem to know or care that not too long ago, she had attempted to drown him and his friends in her soundstage.

"Thank you, Wilby," she said sweetly, prompting a laugh from the audience. Sawyer hissed under her breath, and Danny couldn't help but share her sentiment. "I think it's just so precious how Kitten Kenny thought that he could make it in the big bad world of Hollywood! The movies just aren't right for animals, are they?"

Dagmouse gulped. With a nervous chuckle, he nodded. "Right. Not for animals."

"Cartoons are where animals belong, right, Mr. Schaefer?"

The man next to Dagmouse stepped forward. Danny's heart sank.

"Oh no..." he whispered. Sawyer turned.

"What? Who is he?" she asked. Danny began shaking his head.

"George Schaefer. Head of production at RKO Pictures."

Schaefer, now standing next to Darla, he patted her head. "Too right, Miss Dimple. We at RKO won't be bending to the impending Hollywood fad of 'Animal Pictures' like our rivals. We'll be ending production of any such films effective immediately, and will be refocusing our collaboration efforts with Dagmouse Animated Pictures."

Danny didn't hear a word after that. Through the elated crowd, Danny could see Orson Welles sitting a few rows ahead of him. He turned around and offered Danny a sad, apologetic look.

"Come on, Sawyer," Danny said, his voice graveled, "We're leaving."

Outside the theater, Danny stormed down the street, his head down and his hat pulled over his eyes. Sawyer ran to catch up to him, she had stopped to adjust her heels and expected Danny to wait for her. He hadn't.

"Danny! Slow down!" she called after him. Danny stopped, looking over his shoulder to watch Sawyer walk up beside him.

"So much for the dream," Danny said darky. Sawyer grabbed his face and shook him.

"Danny! This isn't you! You know that this is only a temporary setback, right? You'll bounce back."

"Not from this, Sawyer. If she can get away with what she did, with everyone still adoring her, how could we ever hope to get anywhere in this business?"

Danny began to start walking again. Sawyer watched him walk away, the opposite direction of the streetcar station that they would have taken home. She swallowed the lump in her throat, held her coat tightly to her, and slowly began to walk home.


	5. Chapter 5: Curiosity

Wandering the deserted Hollywood streets, Danny had no idea where he was going. All he knew is that his feet kept moving, and along with them, so did he. From the Chinese Theater, he found himself in the Hollywood Hills, where the sprawling mansions of the stars speckled the sides of the iconic rolling bluffs.

A car whizzed past him, a pink and purple limousine. He watched it dash out of sight in the direction of Darla Dimple's mansion. Gritting his teeth, Danny pressed on, now with a destination in mind.

He reached the front gate, golden bars towering skyward over his already short stature. Luckily for him, they were designed to keep humans out, not cats, and his limber body was able to sneak right through one of the larger gaps in the gate. Creeping up the front drive, he watched as Darla's old manservant, Max, stepped out of the limo. He had hoped that he had seen the last of the hulking behemoth at the premiere of Little Ark Angel, but apparently fate had other plans. He crouched behind a bush, hoping he hadn't been spotted.

Max held the door open for Darla, who pranced into her sprawling home without a second thought. Max followed, although he gave the grounds a quick once over from the door before closing the door behind him. Once the coast was clear, Danny began to slowly crawl closer to the house.

He reached a window, and peered over the ledge to see Darla in the process of putting her trademark curls in rollers. Looking for a way in without being detected, Danny noticed a trestle along another wall, covered in white roses. Giving little thought to the flowers, he crawled up the trestle to the second story, right up next to a window. Once there, he repositioned his back paws to strengthen his balance, and pulled up on the window.

It wasn't nearly as tight as he had expected. His overcompensation sent the window launching upwards, thudding against its frame loudly. Biting his lip, Danny quickly jumped into the window, just barely pulling in his tail before he heard another window opening. Judging by the growling he heard, Danny assumed that Max's head was looking up toward the second story window. Hoping with all his might that Max wouldn't be able to see it was open, he pressed on.

Entering the hallway, Danny couldn't help but notice how many pictures Darla had of herself around her mansion. The last time he was here, he had stars in his eyes and was completely ignorant to most of what was going on around him, but now, he noticed every single portrait. While on one hand he too wished he was famous enough to have that many pictures taken of him, the amount of vanity he saw was sickening.

"...and Max, get Dagmouse on the phone," a familiar voice ordered from downstairs. As Danny neared the grand staircase, Darla's piercing voice was all too easy to pick out.

"Yes, Miss Dimple..." Max droned in his usual fashion. Obviously, not much had changed about him. Danny could hear the sound of a dialer, and a ruffle of fabric as Max walked the phone over to Darla.

"Hello there, Wilby!" Darla began sweetly. The way her voice his Danny's ears reminded him of the time he dipped a sucker he had gotten for his birthday in a bag of brown sugar. Sickeningly sweet.

There was a pause as Darla listened to Dagmouse's response.

"What do you mean, losing money? Where?" Darla's voice had quickly abandoned her faux charm in exchange for anger. "Boycott? What are you talking about?"

Danny's ears perked up. _A boycott? Maybe things aren't so bad after all_.

"You're telling me that the most popular cartoon character in America is losing money because of _me_? How dare you! If your little studio goes under, that's your problem, not mine. It doesn't matter anyways, it's time to begin the final stage of our plan."

Darla slammed the phone down onto the receiver. "Max," she called, angrily, "come get the phone." Danny, grinning to himself, turned around to leave. Unfortunately, he found herself face to face with the towering mass of humanity that was Max.

"Here, kitty, kitty..." Max said slowly, allowing his face to twist into a terrifying grin as he gripped Danny in his massive fist.

* * *

><p>As Sawyer crawled into bed, she wrapped herself around a pillow, attempting to get comfortable. Satisfied for a moment, she placed her head against it... then rolled over. And attempted to do the same on her other side. That didn't work either. Sprawling out across the bed on her back, Sawyer let out a sad 'mew,' the first time she had actually meowed in some time.<p>

"Danny..." she sighed, wrapping her arms around herself the way he would. It was no substitute, but it would have to do.

* * *

><p>"Welcome back to my lovely home, Mr. Kitty Cat."<p>

Danny, coming around after he had been knocked unconscious by Max, barely heard Darla's condescension. He looked down to find his arms and legs bound by rope to a chair, the same chair he had sat in months ago when he had visited Darla before.

"I trust you remember, Max," she motioned behind Danny. He looked up to see Max looking down on him, waving with a sick grin on his deformed face. Danny looked away from that horrifying scene as quick as his neck would allow.

"What do you want from us, Darla?" Danny demanded, struggling to get free from his ties. Darla gave Max a nod, who promptly gave the ropes a tug, tightening Danny's bonds. Darla laughed as Danny coughed from air restriction.

"Silly cat, you think I'd actually want something from you and your dopey friends," Darla said, beaming as she walked closer to Danny. "I lost everything I had at Mammoth Pictures. My contracts, my yes-men, my product endorsements... You and your pest friends caught me off guard, I'll admit. But soon everything that you've done will be for nothing."

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked. Darla pulled a poster from under her table and unfurled it in front of Danny. It showed a cartoon representation of animals marching in unison, under the banner of a metallic hawk and the German flag.

"What is this?" he asked, genuinely confused. Darla shook her head sadly.

"Poor, ignorant animal. You obviously haven't been following what's been going on in Europe, have you?"

Danny had a sudden flashback to the newsreels he had to appear in under his contract to RKO Pictures. He had paid it no mind, too busy thinking about his big break in the industry to realize the gravity of what was going on across the Atlantic. After all, he was too young to remember the Great War, and his father had never talked about it in front of him or his siblings.

"War is brewing, Danny. People are going to get scared. People are going to think that there are enemies everywhere, waiting to strike from within. And where do people get their news?" Danny was too petrified to respond, he knew exactly what Darla was hinting at. "The movies, silly. And now, newsreels across the nation are going to paint animals as a threat to truth, justice, and... well, all that jazz." Danny's face twisted into a scowl. Not because he was particularly worried about her plan, more with the glee she took in explaining it to him.

"People will never believe that! Maybe here in Hollywood it's different, but where I come from, humans and animals live in harmony!"

"Don't underestimate the power of fear, Danny. Your neighbors and friends would turn you over in a heartbeat to save themselves, if it came to that. And with the power of RKO and Wilbur Dagmouse, it _will_ come to that. Your friends will be rounded up and caged like the beasts that they are."

Danny, speechless, could only stare at the propaganda poster in front of him. Suddenly, everything that Wooly had told him began to sink in. "Do you realize the gravity of what we did at Mammoth Studios?" echoed through his mind in a nonstop loop, only breaking when Darla spoke again.

"Of course, you won't have to worry about that," she said, rolling up the poster. Danny looked at her, confused. "No, I can't risk you ruining my plans again, Mr. Kitty. They say that curiosity killed the cat, don't they? I think it's time I treated you like the unwanted kitten you are."

Danny's eyes widened in horror just as Max yanked on his ropes, breaking the chair he was bound to. Suddenly free, Danny attempted to run, but found himself swept up into a burlap sack. Panicked, he clawed at the bag, but it was no use. Max tied off the bag, sealing him inside with no escape.

Darla innocently walked out of the room, waving despite the fact that Danny couldn't see her. "So long, Danny. Have a nice swim!" The sound of her cackles echoed through the mansion, the last thing Danny heard before he felt a swift kick and was knocked out once again.

* * *

><p>When he came to, Danny was still in the burlap sack. He could feel the surface below him vibrating, leading him to assume he was inside Darla's limousine. He knew all too well his destination, and tried to shove it from his mind. But he found just how difficult it was to ignore the inevitable.<p>

_I'm going to die._

He clenched his paws, attempting to swallow his sadness. He thought of Sawyer, and the look in her eyes as he had walked away from her, how she called out after him and he ignored her... He wondered how she would feel when he never returned, how the last thing he said to her was so negative...

He drew his claws and tried scratching against the burlap again. Over and over, he dug his claws into the bag, trying to rip even just a tiny hole in the tough material. He soon realized how futile trying was, his claws had been filed down by the RKO Hair and Makeup department in preparation for Heart of Darkness filming. He curled up in a ball, unable to think of anything better to do with his time.

The sack hit against something hard, and Danny took most of the impact. From what he could tell, Max had slammed on the brakes. Then he heard the sound of a car door, then another.

_This is it_.

He felt as the sack was lifted from wherever he had been kept. The backseat? The trunk? Not that it really mattered at this point. He could feel himself being carried, at first by the top of the sack, and then he felt himself lifted into Max's massive arms. He could feel the length of Max's stride, and hear the sound of buoys off in the distance. The sound of lapping waves started faint at first, but grew in intensity as he neared the ocean.

Then something happened that startled Danny beyond belief. Suddenly, he felt Max's hand against the bag as well. At first he thought that Max was attempting to make sure Danny was still unconscious, but then the pressure of his hand let up. Then returned again. Then let up again. The rhythm was undeniable, Max was petting Danny.

Danny wasn't sure what to think. He chalked it down to his head being kicked one too many times, and curled up into a tighter ball.

Then came the sound of creaking wood. Max had reached a pier, and with every step, the sound of wood under immense pressure filled Danny's ears. He silently pleaded for it to stop violating his ear drums, but his heart sank when he realized what would happen when it finally did end. The sound of stressed wood began to slow as Max reached the end of the pier, finally coming to a stop. Danny winced, expecting to be tossed into the merciless waves without a second thought at any moment.

After a few seconds, Danny's heart was ready to burst. The suspense, waiting for the drop into the water, the feeling of his blood pumping far too fast through his veins, it was too much. Then he heard the sound of Max sniffing, and felt his arm move as he wiped his nose.

Was he having second thoughts about going through with it? Maybe Darla's manservant didn't have the heart to kill him!

With what strength he had left, Danny gasped out, "You don't have to do this, Max."

With a heavy sigh, Max replied, "Yes, I do." Danny felt the vibrations of the words against Max's gargantuan chest, and also down his spine. "Goodbye, kitty," Max added sadly as he allowed the burlap sack to leave his arms. Danny let out one last 'meow' before the bag hit the water and slowly began to fill.

Terrified, Danny tried to focus on one last happy memory. One last memory to close the show on. He remembered Sawyer, on the streetcar, picking him up after what was the happiest day of his life. He remembered suddenly kissing her, and her responding. Her voice had been so timid, so frightened, as she asked him "Why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted to," Danny whispered, shivering as the water filled the bag. "I wanted to."


	6. Chapter 6: Road To Revenge

"You want to tell me what we're doing here?"

It was quite the strange image, the two men, sitting on a dock. One of whom held a fishing pole, and was digging in a tackle box for bait.

"What does it look like I'm doin'? I'm fishing, you ought to try it sometime." He cast his line into the ocean, the lure bobbing up and down with the choppy waves. He adjusted his fisherman's hat, drawing the critical eye of his companion.

"You know golf is my game. Don't need anything to do with your fishing mumbo jumbo, Crosby."

"You kidding? You couldn't hit a ball 160 yards even if you teed off from the Hollywood sign. Might as well give it up and grab a pole, Hope."

Bob Hope laughed, slapping Bing Crosby on the back playfully. "Not if I have to wear a crummy hat like that. But I think this film idea you've got is brilliant, Bing. Could even become a series. We'd crack jokes, sing songs, and travel all over the world!"

"And meet beautiful women," Bing added, laughing.

"Nahh, that's my job."

Bing felt a sudden tug on his line. Standing up, he began to reel in his catch. Bob watched as the pole bent under the weight of whatever was on the line.

"Watch yourself there, Bing, gonna break your nifty pole," Bob warned.

"Well if I do," Bing quipped, his voice strained as he focused on pulling, "I'll just take your driver and fish it out. Someone might as well get some use out of..."

Bing fell backwards as his catch was launched into the air. As if on cue, Bob stood up and caught it, expecting it to be wriggling and wet. Instead, he found himself holding a soaked burlap sack.

"Well ain't this special," he laughed, putting the sack down. "The great angler caught a brown bag."

Unphased by Bob's taunts, Bing opened up the burlap sack, finding inside an equally soaked orange tabby cat.

"Oh, my mistake. You caught a catfish."

The cat coughed, spitting seawater from his mouth as he slowly came to. Bob crouched down, dropping the act as he realized the cat might actually need their help. As he slowly opened his eyes, he reached out his arms, attempted to sit up. This effort was thwarted by Bing, who gently guided the cat back down. He coughed again.

"Where am I?"

"Los Angeles Harbor. Few minutes south of Hollywood," Bob replied. The cat's head rolled from one side to the other, looking back and forth between his two saviors.

"Who are you guys?"

Bing pointed to Bob, and Bob pointed to Bing, each saying the other's name in unison. The cat's eyes widened slightly as he began to recognize the two men standing above him.

"What's your name, tabby?" Bob asked as he began to help the cat to his feet.

"Dan..." he coughed mid-word, then tried again, "Danny." Bob and Bing exchanged a glance.

"That cat who humiliated Darla Dimple at her own premiere?" Bing asked, surprised.

"I oughta buy you a drink. I hate that little tart. And her stupid curls. In what world are _those_ sausages cute?" Bob laughed. Danny laughed too, between fits of coughing.

"What happened to you?" Bing asked, taking his jacket and wrapping it around Danny's shoulders.

"Yeah, ya big drip, I thought cats hated water? Or is that just a "speci-ist"rumor or something?" Danny shook his head.

"Darla. Tried to drown me."

"Kids these days. Give 'em a ten picture deal and they think they own the world," Bob joked, shaking his head. "Well, come on, Bing. Let's get this tabby something to eat, looks like he could use it. Wonder where we can get kibble this time of night?"

* * *

><p>"Well. Now that's a story."<p>

At a 24-Hour diner a mile or two out of Hollywood, Danny had relayed the story of his past few months in Hollywood to the two comedians over a greasy dinner. His hat laid on the table next to his food, still a bit wet from his experience in the ocean. Naturally, they chimed in with quips and jokes about little details, but for the most part they were captivated on the story. Bob took a bite of the burger in front of him.

"Y'know, I never understood why they never put animals in pictures," he began, his mouth still full of food.

"Careful there, Bob, I know how you feel about sharing your food," Bing snapped back.

"No, seriously," Bob swallowed the food in his mouth and attempted to look as sincere as possible. As much as Danny believed he wasn't joking, it was certainly hard for him to imagine Bob Hope as serious. "Some of the funniest, talented individuals I've met here are animals. I mean, just look at Bing here. But apart from him, I've met dogs and cats who can act their way around Clark Gable, let alone a hack like Darla Dimple."

"Exactly!" Danny piped up, for a moment regaining his zeal. But only for a moment. "But how are we supposed to fight against both Darla and someone like Dagmouse?"

"Well, what you overheard was true," Bing said, absently playing with the straw in his drink, "Kitten Kenny is bombing across the country. It's even losing steam in New York and Hollywood."

"And not just because it was a bad film, and believe me, it was bad," Bob added, finishing the last drops of his coffee. "Exit polls conducted by RKO have been showing that most moviegoing audiences find it ridiculously offensive. Even humans."

"It's as if Dagmouse decided to take everything he spent years building here in Hollywood and said 'Why not throw it down the hill to see what sound it makes?' It's too bad, I met him once. Seemed like a nice guy." Bing shook his head.

"What we need is a strategy. Some way we can get you and your furry..."

"And finned," Bing added.

"Yes," Bob rolled his eyes, "and finned, friends back in the limelight. Might not work out well for us, but hey, what's right is right." Danny looked up as Bob finished and began attempting to flag down the elusive waitress to refill his coffee pot.

"What do you mean by that, Mr. Hope?"

"Well, Bing and I were going to pitch ourselves to a studio, trying to get ourselves in as a comedy duo. We figured that the studios were going to be shutting down their new animal divisions and needing fresh ideas to compensate."

Danny looked back and forth between Bing and Bob, his jaw dropping slightly. "You mean," he started, the words slowly working their way out of his mouth, "you're risking your own plans and ideas for me?"

"Oh don't kid yourself, kid," Bob retorted, "It's not just for you. It's your brethren. And the birthright that was robbed from them."

"I'm sure they'll still want us for something," Bing added thoughtfully. "They keep giving Errol Flynn work."

Danny felt himself beginning to glow from within. A smile burst across his face and he jumped to his feet, standing on the bench seat in front of his two new friends. "Well then, what are we waiting for?"

"The right moment," Bing cut in. "And next week, RKO is going to be announcing their fall production schedule. I usually attend the press conferences just for kicks, but we can use it to our advantage."

"See, the media loves the little tart," Bob explained, picking up immediately where Bing left off. Danny couldn't help but be impressed at how great the chemistry was between the two comedians, even when they were being completely serious and off screen. "They eat up everything she says. But if we can get in there and expose her for who she really is..."

"Then we can recapture the attention and hearts of Hollywood!" Danny blurted out, grinning. Bing and Bob nodded in agreement. Danny picked up and twirled his boater on his finger, flipping it back onto his head as he danced on his seat. The two men across the table from him smirked, amused by the song and dance cat's enthusiasm.

"And they think Fred Astaire can dance," Bob snorted.

"The thing is," continued Bing, "for this to work, we're going to need as many of your friends as possible at the press conference. Kind of a 'Little Ark Angel' take two... although I don't think singing and dancing will work this time."

"You need to take command and show the world that you demand their respect, and won't settle for anything less. Got that?" Bob made eye contact with Danny briefly, before catching a glimpse of the waitress out of the corner of his eye. "Hey! Little coffee here? It's too early for me to go without, you know."

"Well, I suppose I can try to get my friends to show up... I mean, they didn't show up when I tried to get them to come with to the Dagmouse premiere. Well, except for..." Danny stopped cold. He spun around, spying that it was well past two in the morning. "Oh no, Sawyer..." Danny turned back to Bob and Bing, both of whom sporting matching looks of confusion at the cat's sudden outburst. "Would you be able to give me a lift home? There's someone who I owe an apology to."

"Sure thing, Danny," Bob replied, nodding. "Just as soon as I get my... HEY! COFFEE!"

* * *

><p>Arriving at Sawyer's door with minutes to three, Danny attempted to open the door, in hopes that Sawyer had left it unlocked. To his relief, she had. Once inside, he silently closed and locked the door behind him, and sighed. The last thing he wanted to do would be to wake Sawyer at this time of night.<p>

Turning around, Danny found himself face to face with Sawyer, still very much awake. Her face, normally fitted with a knowing smirk, was hanging down in dismay from worry.

"Hey, Sawyer," Danny greeted her quietly, his face falling at the sight of hers. Without a word, Sawyer wrapped her arms tightly around him and squeezed. Surprised at her strength, Danny coughed from the pressure on his still-recovering lungs. She relaxed her grip and looked him in the eyes.

"Where were you, Danny?" she asked, emphasizing each word with hushed concern. Danny took off his hat and put it on the coatrack.

"Well, the night was all downhill until I ran into Bing Crosby and Bob Hope," he said, pulling his face back into a smile. Sawyer looked like she had been hit with a brick, though Danny hardly noticed. "We came up with a plan to get us all back in the good graces of the studios and put Darla down once and for all. You know, they're pretty stand up guys..."

Danny was cut off in mid-sentence as Sawyer darted toward him without warning and slapped him in the face. His paw leapt to his cheek instinctively, and for a moment Danny continued to face the direction in which Sawyer's slap left him facing. He slowly turned to look at her, and found himself the focus of her furious glare.

"You have no idea how worried I was about you," she said. She spoke slowly and carefully, forming her words into daggers and aiming straight for Danny's heart. "It made me so sick that I couldn't sleep. I ended up sitting down here, hoping, _praying_ that you were okay. And now I find that you've been hanging out with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby?"

"Sawyer, I..."

"I didn't think there'd be any golf courses open this late. Did you all think it'd be fun to go play a round and leave me waiting here, wondering why you weren't home?"

"Please..." Danny begged, but Sawyer paid him no mind.

"I thought that you had more respect for me than that, Danny. I thought that..." Sawyer's words slowed to a crawl, and she turned around as they tapered off completely. "I thought you loved me."

Danny opened his mouth to reply, but the gravity of Sawyer's words weighed him down to the point of speechlessness. They hung in the air for a few seconds before Danny began to walk toward Sawyer.

"I do love you," he said softly, reaching his paw around her and attempting to hold hers. Reluctantly, she allowed his fingers to interlock with hers. But it was short lived, as her nose crinkled up in disgust.

"What... what is that smell?" she asked, her voice more confused now than angry.

"Seawater," Danny replied, his head bowed against his chest. Sawyer spun around to face him, using her paw to lift his chin up. She looked into his green eyes, the green eyes that always filled her with such hope... and saw them networked with red lines. All of a sudden, a pit began to form in her stomach as she realized that he hadn't told her the full story.

"Danny, what happened to you?" she asked, tenderness returning to her voice. She ran her paw against his cheek, and he nuzzled it gently.

With a deep breath, Danny replied, "Darla tried to have me drowned."

Sawyer gasped and took a step back, her hands against her mouth as she shook her head. She quickly scanned and looked Danny over, head to toe. She now noticed his matted, dirty fur, his damp clothes, and most of all, a strange, nervous shaking that seemed to absently be taking control of his limbs.

She pulled Danny close again, not in the same vicegrip as she had earlier. This time, Danny felt her arms reaching around to his shoulders, pulling Sawyer's face against his chest. He placed his head against hers, gently stroking her fur as she began to cry. The two held each other, lost in their own time and space. For to them, there was no time. There was just Danny and Sawyer. And that was just enough for them both.


	7. Chapter 7: Open Casting Call

Danny awoke to find himself in Sawyer's room, alone. Slowly sitting up, his back aching from the previous night, he blinked his eyes in search of a clock. A chrome alarm clock on the bedside table read 10:30pm, the latest he had overslept in years.

_Maybe I'm losing the farm cat in me quicker than I thought._

The smell of smoke caught his attention. Despite his soreness, he quickly pulled on dry clothes from his bag and dashed downstairs.

At the stove, Sawyer panicked over several smoking pots and pans, her hands jittering nervously across the heat dials. Danny strode over to the kitchen and began to help Sawyer, who, at the first sign of his presence, began to protest.

"Danny, no. I don't need help," she insisted, trying to butt him out of the way with her elbows. The bacon on the stove ignited into flames, causing Sawyer to jump back in terror, her tail puffed out and rigid. Danny took the opportunity to take control of the situation, turning off all the burners and extinguishing the burning bacon. Sawer slumped against the refrigerator, dismayed.

"I was making you breakfast..." she explained sadly, motioning to the crisp remains of bacon and eggs. "You know, since you always make it for me..."

Danny hugged her, kissing her forehead with a smile. "Aw, Sawyer, you didn't have to do that."

"You had such a bad night, and all I did was yell at you..."

Danny held a finger to her lips. While normally she'd claw anyone who tried to shush her, especially like that, she knew Danny didn't understand. She made a quick mental note to explain her boundaries to Danny at a more appropriate time.

"Besides, we don't have time for that today," he continued, grabbing his hat. Sawyer watched him move about her house, searching for a clue as to what he was talking about.

"We don't?" she retorted back, in lieu of any explanation. Danny walked back over to her, wrapping a festive scarf around her neck.

"We need to get everyone back together, Sawyer. The press conference at RKO is only a week away, and for this to work the way Bing, Bob, and I planned, we're going to need every animal in Hollywood there to make our case."

"And humiliate Darla, right?" Sawyer added hopefully. Danny shook his head.

"We're not looking to humiliate anyone, we want to show we're professional, courteous animals who should be treated with respect. And that we belong in the movies!"

Sawyer nodded, although admittedly, she didn't want Darla leaving the studio lot without crying. Or bleeding. Even thinking about what Darla had almost done to Danny made her muscles tense and her tail twitch. As much as she wanted to follow Danny's plan to the letter, she knew deep down that it would be unwise of Darla to cross her path.

* * *

><p>"Sawyer, where have you been?" Farley Wink barked as the two cats entered the agency. Looking around the small office, Danny noticed that the wooden benches, normally packed tight with eager animal actors, were beginning to collect dust.<p>

"Sorry, got a little caught up at home. What do you need from me?" she asked, oblivious to Farley's red, fuming face.

"Did you not hear about the Kitten Kenny premiere?" Farley exploded. "Every major studio followed RKO's lead. Even Mammoth Pictures! There are no roles for animals left in Hollywood!" Sawyer gasped. She looked behind Wink, peering into his office. The walls were no longer decorated with photos of the agency's leading talents, but instead were lined with packing crates.

"Farley..." she said softly, her voice faltering as she realized she had nothing to say. Wink sat down in the nearest chair, putting his hands on his knees and sighing.

"All I wanted to do was to help my friends get into the pictures," he sighed. He pulled out a photograph of himself, much younger and fitter, and with a full head of hair. Next to him stood a smiling dog and horse, waving for the camera. "Ed went back east to try theater," he explained, pointing to the horse. "Haven't heard from him since. And Freddy just gave up after years of no work for dogs. Runs a bookstore, barely gets by."

Wink's face had fallen in a way that Sawyer had never seen before. She had seen him disappointed plenty of times. While he didn't always show it, he did want the best for his clients, and truly felt for them if arrangements didn't go as planned. But this was a new sadness. Sitting before the two cats was a defeated, broken man.

"Where are the usuals, Wink?" Sawyer asked softly, inquiring about their friends. Wink looked at his watch and shrugged.

"Well, I suspect they'd be at their day jobs right about now. Everyone has them nowadays..."

Danny put his hand on Wink's massive shoulder. He tensed up on contact, but only for a quick moment. "Mr. Wink, when I came here, you believed in me. And now, sir, I need you to do believe in me again. We have a chance to fix this, but we're going to need everyone."

Slowly, Sawyer found a strengthening warmness growing within her. As she watched the orange tabby console her old friend, the first man who had believed in both of them, she couldn't help finding herself thinking _'I'm going to marry that cat someday'_, even to her own shock.

"I need you to call up every animal in Hollywood. Every has-been, every no-luck and every starstruck that has ever walked into your office. And I need you to get them to RKO Pictures this Friday. If this is our last chance to fight for our dreams, well then we're going to have to stand together. All of us."

Staring at the cat standing before him, Wink found himself staring. In the face of everything, he just kept smiling. Maybe it was his Midwestern _naïveté, _or maybe he felt invincible with the saucy secretary by his side. But one thing was definitely for certain, by looking Danny cat in the eyes, he believed every word that came from his mouth.

"You got yourself a deal, Danny," Wink smiled, standing back up. His expression flipped in a flash, regaining his old vocal volume and fervor. "Now get out of here, I have a lot of calls to make!"

Danny grabbed Sawyer's hand, and the two of them left the office in a heartbeat. Turning around to enter his office, Wink pulled out a small, weathered address book from his back pocket. Flipping through pages, he stopped halfway through the volume, reaching for one of his desk's phones. Dialing. Ringing.

"Hello? Freddy, old pal? I need to ask you for a favor."

* * *

><p>"Absolutely not!"<p>

Cranston slammed his front gate in front of Danny and Sawyer, turning away from them both in a huff. As he started back toward his front porch to continue judging the neighborhood youth, Danny and Sawyer leapt the small fence in pursuit. He growled under his breath, quite aware that they weren't through.

"Cranston..." Sawyer pleaded, but he would have none of it.

"We're not asking for anything more than you being there," Danny explained. Cranston stopped and spun around, forcing Danny to take a step back. He pointed straight at Danny, as if pointing would make his argument stronger.

"I was there at the Darla movie. We stood up and made our case. And they threw us out on our ears. I'm sick of trying. I've accepted what the world thinks of me. Why haven't you?"

"Because I'm never going to let a bunch of rich Hollywood types tell me who I am!" Danny retorted, crossing his arms. As if to spite him, Cranston crossed his arms as well.

"Well good luck trying to work for them then, Danny. And you too, Sawyer. I thought you were smarter than this."

"I thought you had more heart than this," Sawyer shot back, nearly hissing. Cranston made a quick 'feh' before turning back to his house.

"It'll never get any better unless we keep fighting," Danny said, turning his back to the old goat. Sawyer touched his shoulder tenderly, but he shook his head. "It's hopeless, Sawyer," he muttered, motioning for her to follow him. With one last sharp look at Cranston, Sawyer let Danny lead her back off of his property.

Cranston entered the house and slammed the door behind him. Taking a seat in a well worn chair, he pulled out a book to read. But he found himself looking out the window, watching the two cats walk away, until they disappeared over a hill. Only then could he concentrate on the book.

* * *

><p>Uncharacteristically nervous, Wilbur Dagmouse found himself hiding within his own studio. His brother, Ronald, had called from the financial department, demanding a contingency plan for the failure of Kitten Kenny. In all honesty, Dagmouse didn't know what to do anymore. His major film plans, his future city, all quickly going up in smoke with every theater that boycotted Kitten Kenny. Every move he made, he now answered to...<p>

The phone rang. His limbs moving almost robotically, he picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. "Hello?" he answered, attempting to hide the fear in his voice.

"Hello Wilby," the voice of Darla Dimple replied, once again sweetened despite the nature of their previous call.

"I don't know what more you can take from me," he spat out, nearly begging. At this point, all he wanted to do was return to Kansas City and draw cartoons in the newspaper again. Darla chuckled wickedly, only adding to his pain and frustration.

"Aww, are you getting tired? Are all the big, bad, animals making Wilby Dagmouse sad?"

"I don't hate animals!" he cried back, to a refreshing long take of silence after his voice finished reverberating. Darla made noises like she was trying to formulate words, but it kept coming out like coughing.

"You what?" she finally managed, stretching her words to maintain her sweet disposition for as long as she possibly could bear.

"I grew up on a farm, Darla. Animals were my best friends! And now all this... I'll be branded forever as someone who hates animals!"

"Wilby, I thought we understood each other," Darla growled, her voice fading slightly. Dagmouse noticed that behind her voice, he could hear strange noises. Noises he almost recognized.

"I'm not doing this anymore. I'm issuing a public apology and I'm going to try and get my life back," he commanded. As he did, he felt a sudden rush of pride surge through him. _I'm doing it! I'm standing up to her!_ He could feel his heart thudding against his chest...

Or the floor...

But it was far too slow to be his heartbeat...

From outside his office, Dagmouse could hear screaming. A noise in his ear signaled that Darla had disconnected from the call... and something told him that she was coming to pay him a visit.

The doors to Dagmouse's office burst open suddenly, causing him to flail his arms in front of his face to avoid the sudden onslaught of debris. From the wreck stepped an enormous butler, carrying in his hand none other than Darla Dimple.

"Care to reconsider?" Darla called to him, laughing maniacally at the ruin her servant had caused. Dagmouse looked back and forth, scanning for an escape. But he knew there was only one way into his office, and that he was hopelessly trapped once again by Darla Dimple.

"No," he whispered, almost as if to test whether or not he could even make a sound in the face of such hopelessness.

"What?" Darla screamed back. Dagmouse looked up, straight at Darla, and stepped forward.

"No!" he called back.

"Hmph. Seems like there's a bit of spine in you after all, Wilby." Darla turned from the frightened cartoonist to her monstrously large servant. "Max!" she commanded, pointing to Dagmouse. "Break it."

In his unencumbered hand, Max grabbed the comparitively puny Dagmouse, bringing him up to eye level. Before he had a chance to say anything, the man had gone limp in his hand, fainted out of fear.

Max had seen fear in his victims many times before, but for some reason, Dagmouse was different. His body was completely useless in his hand, his face still twisted in a look of absolute terror... And all Max could think of was sitting in the picture house on his days off, watching Kitten Kenny shorts. This man had made them all, a character assigned to the purpose of laughter. And Darla had destroyed him, his work, and everything he loved...

"Come on, Max," Darla growled again, breaking Max's concentration. "We have work to do."

Without saying a word, the servant followed. And while she found it out of the ordinary that her brutish manservant didn't follow her command with a sluggish "Yes, Miss Dimple," she paid it no mind. She had bigger things to worry about.


	8. Chapter 8: Bigger and Louder

The time had come. The Hollywood brass had come out to the gates of RKO Studios, waiting for head of production George Schaefer. The stage had been all set up in front of the studio, complete with podium and microphones, and posters featuring concept art for three new Darla Dimple pictures. The crowd was filled with various reporters, celebrities, and other interested parties. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby found themselves near the rear of the pack, watching carefully.

"You think the tabby did it?" Bing asked Bob as he watched two security guards push open the gates to the studio.

"I'd like to hope so," Bob replied, looking around, "but right now I don't believe it." He was right, the crowd was nearly devoid of animals. A few were covering the story for animal-centered trade papers. But for the most part, it was a human crowd.

"It was worth a try," Bing sighed. The crowd erupted into cheers as Schaefer exited the studio gates and took the stage. Following him closely skipped Darla Dimple, smiling sweetly and waving for the cameras. Flashbulbs lit the stage brightly, which shocked the third party, Wilbur Dagmouse. He cautiously climbed onto the stage, nervously looking back as Max walked to the left of the stage, blocking any means of escape for the terrified cartoonist.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Schaefer addressed the crowd, "it's a beautiful Hollywood morning, and you're all here to find out what RKO has in store for you in the coming season."

"In short," Darla addressed the crowd, "more of little ol' me!"

More cheers. Bing and Bob exchanged a look of disgust, before turning back to the studio head. Bing noticed several animals had arrived toward the back of the crowd. A few dogs and cats, in coats and jackets, watching the action with interest. Bing poked Bob and pointed his attention toward them.

"Well, looks like Danny might have come through after all," Bob said with a grin.

"RKO is taking over where Mammoth Pictures left off, putting into production not one, not two, but THREE new Darla Dimple pictures!"

The crowd continued to grow. Animals, well dressed and standing upright, began to pour into the crowd. Human celebrities in the crowd began to notice, looking both ways in order to see if they were seeing things. The crowd had more than doubled, and humans had become the minority.

This wasn't lost on Darla, who began having difficulty maintaining her adorable public face. Her eyes darted wildly across the crowd, searching for who could be responsible for all these... animals... interfering with her big moment.

"And not to be outdone, Mr. Dagmouse will be producing the next five of his feature films under RKO distribution!" Schaefer continued, seemingly oblivious to the animal takeover of the crowd.

To Darla's horror, the humans in the crowd were shaking hands with the animals. Conversing with them. Laughing at their jokes. She watched as Bing Crosby and Bob Hope introduced Clark Gable to a grinning orange tabby...

"WHAT?" Darla exclaimed, her eyes wide with anger. She turned to Max, furious, and pointed straight at Danny in the crowd.

"...yes, Ms. Dimple?" Schaefer asked, confused. Her outburst had interrupted his speech, throwing off his train of thought.

"Get these ANIMALS out of here!" she screamed, her fists balling up in rage. Dagmouse looked quickly between the enraged Darla, the confused and distracted Max, and made his decision. He pushed her out of the way and ran into the crowd, sobbing.

"I'm so sorry!" Danny heard Dagmouse cry as he ran past. Max, seeing the cartoonist burst into the crowd, began to stomp toward the mass of humans and animals, sending them all into a frenzy.

"_Oh boy, we're going to be blamed for this..._" Danny thought in dismay as he watched the pandemonium unfold in front of him. The stage set for the press conference was forced to the ground, in part because human and animal alike were scrambling to get out of the towering Max's way. Max grabbed wildly for Dagmouse, and ended up grabbing hold of Schaefer instead. In his confusion, Max allowed the head of production to fall from his hand, focused instead of finding Dagmouse.

As her streetcar arrived outside of RKO Studios, Sawyer watched the riot unfold with her hands to her mouth. "_This is what Danny had planned?_" She cautiously approached, hoping to see him in the crowd. She could already see both humans and animals off to the sides of the fray, nursing wounds.

A light fell out of place on the stage, hanging lopsided and casting a spotlight on the riot. Darla walked slowly into the large mass of confused and screaming people, having spotted Danny. He had no time to respond, Darla jumped onto his back and began pulling at his clothes and fur.

"YOU!" she screamed. Danny attempted to shake her from his back, but she clung to him with surprisingly strong arms. He wasn't getting away from her any time soon. She scratched at his arms and neck, and kicked him in the back of the knee, forcing him to the ground.

"Aagh! Please!" Danny cried out, knowing it was in vain. She tried to kill him once, why would she show him mercy now? He took a deep breath just as his face was forced against the pavement and Darla began kicking his stomach. "_This couldn't be any further from what I wanted..._"

A loud yowl could be heard across the crowd, and suddenly, Danny was free. Slowly, he rose back to his feet, and looked around in confusion. He could see Max, on the other side of the fray, had finally found Dagmouse, who was attempting in terror to escape the giant's hands. A few feet away, he saw Sawyer on top of Darla, slashing at her curls in a fury. Her tail had puffed out to nearly twice it's size, and despite her quick and decisive slashes, her face retained it's cool. She turned Darla around, now nearly bald from her attack, and spat in her face.

Straightening her fur, Sawyer collected herself and turned around to see Danny. Nearly out of breath, she managed to force out "You didn't tell me you were going to start a riot."

"He didn't mean to," Bob Hope cut in before Danny could reply. "Darla saw him in the crowd, Dagmouse made a run for it, and all hell broke loose. You alright there, Danny?" he added as an afterthought. Danny nodded, and then coughed, still weak from the attack. Sawyer wrapped him up in a hug, whispering "You stupid moron," in his ear. He laughed and hugged her back tight, pleasantly surprised by her heroics.

"Everyone, calm down," a booming voice rang out over the crowd. Danny and Sawyer turned, but because of the fallen light, all they could see was the silouette of a man standing at the microphone podium. Slowly, the members of the crowd stopped to see who had addressed them, having an equally hard time making out who it was.

Four police cars arrived, surrounding Max. He looked around in confusion, attempting to locate Darla. When the police exited the vehicles, guns drawn, he reluctantly placed Dagmouse on the ground and surrendered.

"Now, it's clear what happened here," the man began to speak again, only to be interrupted by Darla.

"It was the ANIMALS!" she screamed, pointing to her bald head. Sawyer hissed as she spoke, resting her head on Danny's shoulder.

"No, Miss Dimple, you caused the riot. And you caused the flood at Mammoth Pictures. No one forgot about that. Just because you bullied a cartoonist into following your orders doesn't mean the rest of the world is going to follow suit."

Darla gasped in anger. "MAX!" she called out, turning to where she last remembered seeing her servant. She gasped again, this time in shock, as her giant servant was submitting to what could best be described as 'Lilliputian justice.' The police, in lieu of a vehicle big enough to throw Max into, merely tied him up to the large studio building and left him there until they could figure out what to do with him.

"We've caught on, Miss Dimple. You coerce people and animals into doing your bidding because you have a big, bad Max behind you. But on your own, you have no power."

Darla suddenly found herself in handcuffs. She screamed as the police dragged her away, babbling about 'her birthright' and those 'stupid animals' and eventually, stopped using words at all. She was thrown in the back of a police van and driven off.

Danny approached the stage, hoping to get a better look at the man behind the podium. Suddenly, the light behind the man fell from the stage, cutting the power. Danny smiled as he recognized Orson Welles as the man on the stage.

"Hollywood, the time has come for you to realize animals are here, and they're not taking no for an answer anymore," Welles continued, now with all eyes upon him. "Darla Dimple isn't the standard for success anymore. Those who will do well in this new Hollywood will recognize that. Those who do poorly, will be those who fight it."

Reporters began scribbing notes from what Welles was saying. Schaefer, pulling himself back onto the stage, took the microphone back from Welles and readdressed the crowd.

"It was a sad day for RKO when I agreed to be bullied into signing Darla Dimple and firing the cast of Heart of Darkness. I'd like to formally apologize on behalf of the company, myself... and I'm sure Dagmouse as well. Across the country, we're collecting prints of Kitten Kenny Goes Hollywood and burning them. We hope never to make such a mistake again."

Bob and Bing each took turns shaking Danny's hand. "It didn't exactly go as planned," Bob joked, "but you pulled through." Danny laughed, shaking his head.

"I didn't know that many people to call," Danny admitted. "_How did so many people find out about this? It had to have been Wink..._" He turned and saw the stout manager of Farly Wink's Animal Agency hugging a dog, his friend from long ago, and felt his heart melt a little.

"Either way, Danny-boy, things will only get better from here!" Bing promised, as the comedy duo walked past the crowd into the studio gates. "Now, where's that script girl you said could get us an in..."

"Huge mess if you ask me..." a voice growled from behind Danny and Sawyer. They turned to see Cranston standing behind them, looking slightly disheveled and clutching his arm.

"You made it!" Danny smiled, his voice worn out from coughing. Sawyer stroked his back gently.

"Yeah. I suppose. Figured you might, heh, need someone to drag you off the stage if you got too crazy..." Cranston trailed off, his hardened exterior breaking down into a giggle. "Did you see Darla without any hair?"

Sawyer beamed proudly and pulled a few strands of golden hair from her claws. "I got a pretty good view."

* * *

><p>"This is 'News on the March!', for the week of August 25th, 1939. Coming to you from Mammoth Studios in Hollywood, California! Following a riot at RKO studios, caused by former child star Darla Dimple, the studio made history by signing the first-ever animal clients to the studio. In particular, Orange tabby Danny was contracted to Orson Welles' next major film, currently titled 'Citizen Kane.' Meanwhile, our own Mammoth Studios has signed Sawyer, Danny's sweetheart, to a film and record contract. This is only the beginning, as the animals of Hollywood begin to make their way into the major leagues of the motion picture industry!"<p>

In one particular movie house in Hollywood, Danny found himself receiving a kiss on the cheek from Sawyer, wrapped around his arm and purring gently.

"You did it, Danny. You made it."

Next to him, Pudge had cleaned out an entire popcorn bucket. Turning to see Danny and Sawyer in a romantic embrace, he sighed and carried the bucket out to the lobby. As long as they weren't paying attention to him, he might as well get a refill.

* * *

><p>The End.<p>

* * *

><p>And that's the end of Cats Can't Wait! But not the end of the story, in case you might have had questions about any loose ends ;) Coming soon, the next major chapter to the story, "Homecoming - The Courting of Miss Sawyer." Danny and Sawyer venture back to Kokomo, where Danny intends to ask her to marry him. Of course, when a former flame from Danny's past enters the picture, all bets are off.<p>

Thanks everyone for reading, it's been great to hear your feedback and I hope you keep tuning in for the continuing adventures of Danny and Sawyer!


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